Petit-Val

Sornetan village church

Coat of arms

Petit-Val

Location of Petit-Val

Coordinates: 47°17′N 7°13′E / 47.283°N 7.217°ECoordinates: 47°17′N 7°13′E / 47.283°N 7.217°E

Country

Government

• Mayor

Maire

Area

• Total

23.85 km² (9.21 sq mi)

Elevation

843 m (2,766 ft)

Population (Dec 2015)

• Total

411

• Density

17/km² (45/sq mi)

Postal code

2715/2716/2748

SFOS number

0716

Surrounded by

Saicourt, Saules, Undervelier

Website

http://www.petit-val.ch/
SFSO statistics

Petit-Val is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (Jura Bernois).On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Châtelat, Monible, Sornetan and Souboz merged to form the new municipality of Petit-Val.

Châtelat is first mentioned in 1335 as Schestellat.

For most of the village's history, it belonged to the court and parish of Sornetan under the provost of Moutier-Grandval Abbey. Châtelat remained part of the parish after they both converted to the new faith during the Protestant Reformation in 1531. In the following years, a colony of Mennonites was established in the village of Moron on the slopes of the Moron mountain. Moron was located at the far end of the valley, at an elevation of 1,020 m (3,350 ft) and like many Mennonite settlements was in a poorly accessible location. After the 1797 French victory and the Treaty of Campo Formio, Châtelat became part of the French Département of Mont-Terrible. Three years later, in 1800 it became part of the Département of Haut-Rhin. After Napoleon's defeat and the Congress of Vienna, Châtelat was assigned to the Canton of Bern in 1815. During the period of French control, the village of Fornet-Dessous was an independent municipality. At some point after Bern assumed control, it was integrated into the Châtelat municipality. In 1829 the village of Fornet-Dessous was completely destroyed in a fire.

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Wikipedia